The 13th Hour: A Thriller

Nick Quinn is being held in jail, accused of the murder of his beloved wife, Julia. He knows she's dead; he saw her bloody corpse, shot in the head at point-blank range. The police tell him they found the murder weapon with his fingerprints on it in the trunk of his car. Nick is confused, grief-stricken -- and completely innocent.

Orphan Train: A Novel

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

Kathi says:"Moving story of sharing and transformation."

Publisher's Summary

An irresistible treasure, two master thieves, and a secret as old as mankind....

Michael St. Pierre, a reformed master thief, thinks he has left his criminal days far behind him when he receives word that his best friend, Simon, has been locked up and sentenced to die in a brutal desert prison. Breaking into jail for the first time in his checkered career, Michael is stunned to discover that his new girlfriend, KC, is connected to Simon’s case.

With a madman on their heels, the three adventurers make their way to Istanbul in search of the mysterious artifact that landed Simon behind bars in the first place: a map containing the location of a holy place lost to the mists of time, a repository of knowledge and treasure predating Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Testing their courage and wits, Michael and his team are forced to plot a series of daring thefts that take them inside some of the city’s most celebrated (and heavily guarded) sanctums, from the imperial harem of Topkapi Palace to the tombs of the Hagia Sophia itself. More than priceless artifacts are at stake - the lives of loved ones and perhaps the fate of humanity itself hang in the balance.

A globe-trotting adventure that wings from the glittering banks of the Bosporus to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, The Thieves of Darkness confirms Richard Doetsch’s place as the modern-day master of pulse-pounding suspense.

What the Critics Say

"The plot offers an agreeable blend of heist drama and escape story. Knowledge from the previous St. Pierre adventures is not necessary, but readers will scramble to find them after finishing this masterpiece. Doetsch has earned his seat at the table with other A-list thriller writers." (Booklist)

Mr. Doescht isnot a very good writer and as such, he depends heavily on cliches to advance his plot. The most over-used is the oldest, otherwise known as the cowboy movie cliche. "Drop your gun, or I will kill her!" At this point, 100 ten year olds in the theater are screaming: "Don't drop the gun! If you do, he will kill both of you." Of course, this is obvious to the most mentally adled, but not to the hero. He drops the gun, and incredibly, the villain feels a need to express himself before shooting them, allowing the hero and heroine to escape. Mr. Doescht uses this tired cliche at least 5 times. He also uses the variation where the hero gets the drop on the villain, but instead of shooting him, he also feels the need to express himself, giving the heroine a chance to walk in to be captured and used as a hostage again. There are many other flaws including the man who finds the most evil place on earth and warns his friend: "Don't ever let anybody come here and open the door to this unspeakable evil. By the way, enclosed are the key to the door and a detailed map. Don't let anybody get them." PLEASEEEE! What ever happenned to "?? destroyed the key and burned the map." I realize that without these contrived situations, there would be no plot, but a better writer would have found a more credible premise. Get this book only if you are willing to suspend all brain activity and enjoy a yarn without thinking.

Richard Doetsch’s books, like those of Clive Cussler and other practitioners of this genre write, are guilty pleasure high-speed rides. THIEVES OF DARKNESS is the third book in the series and it is filled with the requisite hairbreadth escapes, twisted villains and a healthy dose of the supernatural. This audiobook version serves the author well. The reading is compelling, the characters clearly drawn – the two main villains and in particular the hero’s best friend stand out in terms of their characterizations. I enjoyed this a great deal and look forward to the next in the series hoping this author and reader continue their collaboration.

I would have enjoyed the listen much more with a better reader. He was hard to listen to because he emphasized the last word of each phrase -- it became 'sing-songy' The read was not smooth. I'd probably look for another of Doetsch's books if it is narrated by someone else.